The Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries Featured

Significant Jewish communities existed throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Babylon, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen and the Gulf region for more than 2000 years, centuries before the advent of Islam and the Arab conquest.

On June 23, 2014 the Knesset adopted a law which designates November 30th as an annual, national day of commemoration for the 850,000 Jewish refugees who were displaced from Arab countries and Iran in the 20th century.

Jews had lived in the Arab lands for thousands of years, and many of their communities preceded the advent of Islam. But in the 20th century, with the rise of Arab nationalism and the conflict in Palestine, the new Arab regimes began a campaign of massive violations of the rights of their Jewish citizens. Arab states expropriated property of their native Jews, and denaturalized, expelled, arrested, tortured and murdered many of them.

Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu: "Today, for the first time, we are marking the exit and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Arab countries and from Iran in the years following the establishment of the State of Israel. It is not for nothing that this day is marked on the day after the 29th of November. The Arab countries, which never accepted the UN declaration on the establishment of a Jewish state, compelled the Jews living in their territories to leave their homes while leaving their assets behind. In several instances the deportations were accompanied by pogroms and violence against Jews. We have acted - and will continue to act - so that they and their claims are not forgotten."

History & BackgroundThe Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people more than three thousand years ago, and from ancient times, centers of Jewish civilization were established in many parts of the adjacent regions. Significant Jewish communities existed throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Babylon, the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen and the Gulf region for more than 2000 years, centuries before the advent of Islam and the Arab conquest.